this was a great show, i went with a car full of hooligans from Utica and we ate a bunch of album acid and got right up front, never forget the naked couple running in front of us, who knows what that was about, dont remember the other bands, lol too much acid!!!!

But this was ugly.

Either you took waaaaay to much of something or not enough of something else. And if you had a good trip - that don't mean jack about the show.

People , Jerry looked like death - and was darn near it. Check out the footage - not sure if it is YouTube or what. Farm Aid Broadcast.

38 minute first set. I will never say I regret attending a GD show - but this one was pretty much off the charts ( not in a good way).
You could tell the band wanted to get the heck outta there.

Cold Rain>Fire on paper looks fabulous - but too bad Jer waited too long to try it.

For those who gave this five stars, I am assuming it was out of 10.

Sorry for the "soapbox" rant, but really knowing how ill Jerry was (even in hindsight) how could this show garnish more than a star (not Dark).

God Bless - apoplogies to those who are convinced this was a great show.

One quarter century ago today, my prep school buddy's brother and i made the trip from Portland, ME to Orchard Park to see this, my first show. As Rich Stadium thumped Cold Rain->Fire, I felt the icy cool sweat beads collect on my sunburned shoulders and i danced with 60K strong in the July sun, Jerry's rapid, twangy lightning-spun riffs filling everyone up, quenching the thirsty masses. 18 yrs. old, declaring my own independence with every noodly gyration. What a time, what a time!!

This was my first Dead show ever, so it'll always be special for me. I was high as hell, too, so that and never having seen a show before made it impossible to judge. When I listen to it now, though, I'd have to say this is on the shortlist for the worst Dead show I personally attended. The band in generall, and Jerry in particular, are sluggish and tired-sounding. The Cold Rain and Fire in set two have some nice moments, but other than that, pretty listless and uninspired playing from the boys. Don't get me wrong, I'll take a crappy Dead show over many bands' best, but if you're thinking about streaming or downloading, I wouldn't recommend it unless you were there and want it for nostalgia's sake, because this show is a pretty weak example of 80's Dead.

I had a great time at this show. The second set Cold Rain and Fire was smoking. This recording is good!

I agree with Worcester Matt. This show wasn't very good. I also remember that the band took over an hour between sets. It was really maddening. I remember thinking, "I drove 10 hours for this shit?".
Can't comment on the quality of the recording. This show aint even worth listening to... Don't get me wrong - I love the Dead and saw many, many shows over a 12-year stretch.

Yes it rained and it wasn't just the fire hoses..Apologies to the two young freaks that watched me take flying lessons balanced on the rim of eternity way up at the top...Why was Chuck the only one that would drink the juice with me..you all looked pretty funny watching that guy eat those 17 hits at the bottom,what the hell,you gotta pass time on line somehow..Cold Rain on the face with those beautiful clouds a rollin in..fuck the music-What A Day!..the boys were just the icing once again all summer long..dylan and petty playing the same exact sets every show really just pretty much sucked but those three black chicks could fuckin sing..Wow,hot hot day,crazy weather,wierd upstate NY hillbillies and that first amazing taste of great smoke when you first come back from the netherworld after taking wayyy too much acid and deciding it must be time to dance..what else..it was said by all of us way before Leonardo,'I'm the King of the World'..thanks boys for lettin us feel it

Just out of college, drove from York PA up to Buffalo, it was beautiful, sunny and hot. The rain remembered by the Heads close to the stage was from firehoses used to keep us all hydrated. Thanks to the good folks from Buffalo for being prepared. I loved this show, but I loved every show I was lucky enough to see.

Overall: Knowing that this was just a week or so before Jerry's coma, this show is not as bad as you'd think. The recording is not great (neither of the recordings currently on Archive are great), but it will certainly suffice if you want to hear a show you attended many moons ago.

The scene: I went to this show with Brian R, his older brother Chris, and Pat M., and maybe a few others. We then met up with a bunch of other kids from our high school in Pittsford NY once we were inside. This was my second show. Dylan/Petty opened and my memory is that it wasn't that memorable. Then again, I ate two sugar cubes. Weird vibe for the show. Saw a big fight break out on the floor. Then our friend Tim H got lost on the way in and by the time he found us, he was deep into a bad trip. Sun, then rain, then a pretty cool sunset and a nice summer night.

The music: not as bad as you'd think. Phil makes some strong appearances. Bobby and Brent also try to bring up the energy that Jerry is definitely lacking. Jerry flubs a lot of lyrics and his guitar playing is strong at times, but not so much at others. The front section of the second set was broadcast for Farm Aid (hence, Bobby's remark about this being a agrarian nation before Wheel). But overall, this is really only to be listened to for nostalgia's sake.

Was at this show and yes it did rain. At least it rained within 15 feet of the stage, I know I felt it. Briefly but the rain happened. Me and my buddy Ron got damp but not wet. A sprinkle would be the term. I am so close to Jerry I could have spit on him, literally. Despite the 4 doses it seems like yesterday. A dude next to next to me at one point says they should play Cold Rain and they do. The drizzle stops and this guy looks at me and says a Fire would warm the crowd like nothing else could. Guess what, it happened. Then the dude says Sampson and Delilah will be next and nails it.
Don't care what others say about this show sound wise I gotta love it, turned a true friend onto the Dead this day and he has not looked back.

it was definitely one of the better shows of 86 until december. short, nicely played. it still has that rushed quality of 86. the sound quality is a uneven, partly due to the policy of the dead/dylan shows which didn't allow taping in 86. i guess the tapers were avoiding security, etc. when the sound is on, it's very good.

First time ever seeing the Dead and they stole the show. Dylan and Petty were horrible but the Dead and Mr. Bill acid made the rest of the show great. Went home to Toronto that night feeling NO PAIN...Sound quality even @ the top of Rich Stadium was a little muffled but it otherwise a nice sounding show, unlike Dylan's show.

I was at this show- and I absolutely remember there was rain- but my memory is that it started right around the beginning of Fire- I remember thinking "How cool...there is Fire on the Mountain, and the rain is coming to put it out"

Strange things have happened during Fire on the Mountain- back in 1981 at the Rutgers U show, a lightning storm broke out during the song- and the top of the RAC was glass, so the heads could see the lightening- cool

And of course there is the debate about Mt. St Helens and this song.

This is a fantastic recording, some of the deepest base I've heard from these mics. I've watched the 2nd set on video and Jerry looks great throughout most of the show. Though it may have been, it doesn't look like his health is failing. Not even close compared to how he looked in '95. He's having a great time during the Cold Rain>Fire 2nd set opener and looks fine through most of the set.

And about the rain, the sky was a bit cloudy, but there didn't appear to be any rain during the 2nd set.

Sounds and to me like this is one of the best during summer of '86.

I remember rain. It was brief, just kind of swept through and they did play Cold Rain and Snow right around that time. The day was really hot and sunny, otherwise. I was 17 and we had no water, no money and no food...We'd moved off the floor into the bleechers by then and my brother was nowhere to be found. Things looked really wierd to me, like the stadium was a big pie and everyone was standing in perfect rows. and then there were the twirling smiley faces in a grid every time I closed my eyes....that's what was happening inside my head during the rain storm, so I remember the rain quite well.

I was 16 and my brother was 17, we drove from Delaware telling my parents we were heading to the Delaware Beaches for the weekend but instead went Truckin up to Buffalo for the 4th of July show. I remember shrooming my balls off during the 1st set and it wasn't that fun, I finally got my mind back and had a blast during the 2nd set. They chimed into "Farm Aid" during the 2nd set via satellite and kicked it up a notch, this 2nd set is def worth a listen! Ahh the memories!

Sheila, Kevin and I drove up from the Philly area
and arrived to find a home about a mile or so from the venue with a sign inviting Dead Heads to camp right on his front yard as the local township had comdemned his property and he didn't mind the tire tracks. We literally pitched our tent in his front yard, (a smelly old 4 man Army tent from the 60's).
While we were trying to get some shut eye it seems a gentleman that had parked his car right next to our tent had locked his keys in the truck of his sedan and thought it would be a good idea at about 2:00am in the morning to begin pounding holes in the back of his cruiser's quite solid truck with a hammer and chisel. He completed destroying his truck lid at about 4:45 or so. Needless to say, the guy must not have gotten any sleep! We weren't harsh on him. In hind sight, my thinking might have been flawed. :) kidding...

Anyway, we were not going to get much sleep anyway and it certainly made for an interesting part of this story.

Back to the homeowner... That morning he invited everyone to use his outside water hose to take a shower. I got naked and everything. I had not been in front of a naked mature woman that I didn't know who was also naked but not interested in anything but getting clean. Being a Dead Head has allowed me to shed some of my shyness. The gentleman whose name escapes me was very kind to all that he met and I saw his mood change from somewhat depressed about his situation to ecstatic about all the friends he made and directions to go from there. The show was great! Got really sunburned. Jerry wore a red T-Shirt what does it mean? It was video taped live satelite broadcasted. I turned a Dead Head hitch-hiker onto Yes with the long verion of America. :)

Just a little background.

HEY SPIKE WAT-A-YA LIKE!?

very short show due to jerry's health, but he actually sounds a bit better than the RFK gigs. Good set list and some interesting moments.

Boys opened the second set with Cold rain and snow because an monsterous storm hit about 10 minutes before.

revised,

maybe my mistake on the rain. I thought this was the show where they took a live feed for the farm aid show. I remember it being sunny and hot for the first set and then the storm hit . Oh well...

I don't recall any rain. In fact, my photos, and a bit of psychedelic memory, tell me it was a beautiful day. The show wasn't short due to Jerry, either. I think that it was due to two opening sets: Tom Petty, and then Dylan backed by Petty.

I recall the show being somewhat abyssmal, and thinking that this was surely the end.

the only show that i ever flew too. great acid, great friends, great tunes, great times!!!!

OK, like so a bunch of us drove down from the Canada...like who cares? Maybe someone should start an entirely new section of archive where folks can meander thru their hazy memories of shows and read each other's stories...no wait, that's been done already (the offficial book of the Deadheads, and no doubt countless othes).

Opinions on sound quality before downloading/burning and how this recording compares to the other one listed would be helpful.

Please limit your comments to issues pertaining to the show
and sound quality.
I chose 5 to get noticed.

really told me alot about the performance and the quality of the recording